Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger

By Maggie Stiefvater

Hardcover, 362 pages

Published July 13, 2010

Scholastic Press

from my personal collection

Synopsis (from Goodreads): In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.
*SOME SPOILERS: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*

My Thoughts: This is one sequel that did not disappoint. At the end of the last book, the future of Sam and Grace was up in the air. Now we know that they are back together and that there is the possibility that Sam's werewolf life is behind him. Add into the mix Isabel as Grace's new almost-maybe-possible-sort-of-best-friend and a terribly damaged human being turned werewolf named Cole and you have the makings of  a pretty tense novel. With Beck turned for the winter, Sam is now the head of the pack and that means taking care of the new wolves, which means Cole the wolf who can't stay a wolf. Grace is fighting with something that no one seems to understand. I again loved this book. I still love the way Maggie writes and I love the characters. This story alternates between the four different points of view: Sam, Grace, Isabel and Col. When I first started the book, I thought that I was going to have a hard time reading through and keeping track of all of the different points of view. As I was reading, I realized that each of the characters had their own specific style, which I give major props to Maggie for. Its hard enough to write from one point of view, let alone four. I also thought I wasn't going to like having to read from Isabel's view. I didn't really like her in the last book because she's kinda snobby. But getting to be inside her head and seeing her interact with Cole made me realize that she is just as damaged as the rest of them but in a different way. I also really liked Cole. I thought he was a great addition to the story. He threw a wrench in the gears of Sam and Grace's life and it was interesting to see them develop a friendship and learn to trust each other. 
The ending? Again I am so glad that there is going to be another book because if Maggie left the story where it ended, I would have to write a very stern letter stating why my fragile mind cannot handle such a cliffhanger. 


Would I recommend this to my 9th graders? Maybe. The book is pretty intense and Cole is a really damaged character. I don't know if they could handle it. Juniors and Seniors, probably could handle it. 


Rating: 5/5